I'm implementing a search function to allow users to search the items in a taskpanel.  There could be 100's if items in multiple groups.  It's easy enough to implement the search, and to ensure that the found item is visible, but I'm struggling with how to indicate the found item.  The item focus rectangle would be perfect but does not display when the control does not have the focus.  In my case the control does not have the focus because the focus is on my search bar at the top of the form.  Modifying the font or text color is not such a good option because the taskpanel colors, fonts, and layout are completely customizable by the user.  

Is there a way to automatically show a focus rectangle or other highlight around the selected taskpanel item?  Can the coordinates of a particular item be determined for an owner-draw mechanism?

I've considered using custom controls as the items, but am having serious challenges with getting them to size properly (my previous post  ).

Thanks in advance.